BY JOHN DAVIDSON
And so, just like that, John Bateman is back in the NRL.
After two seasons with Wigan, and six months of speculation-turned truth that he was heading back to Australia, Bateman has signed a four-year deal with the Wests Tigers.
On the face of it, the struggling Tigers have made a good signing.
Bateman was a star during his first year at Canberra. He was named Dally M second-rower of the year and helped the Green Machine into the grand final. He knows how to succeed in the NRL.
Before that, he was a grand final winner with Wigan and a star in Super League. He is a seasoned England international.
He is a winner and Wests certainly need those.
But delve a little deeper, and you may come to another conclusion.
Bateman’s second season with the Raiders did not go so well. He was crippled by injury, only played 11 games and had a very public and messy falling out with the club, including run-ins with the media.
Bateman wanted more money, Canberra wouldn’t play ball, and he returned to Wigan.
But he has not set Super League on fire since coming back in 2021.
The Warriors struggled that season, the forward was not at his best and there were rumours that he did not get on well with Adrian Lam or Jackson Hastings.
2022 was a better year for Bateman and Wigan. They won the Challenge Cup and finished second on the ladder. The England international seemed happier under Matty Peet.
But the regular season finished with Leeds upsetting Wigan in the major semi-final, with Bateman sent from the field after an ugly high shot on Aidan Sezer. A disappointing end at the DW Stadium.
There was more heartache to come for the Bradfordian with England’s golden point loss in the World Cup semi-finals to Samoa.
In both Super League last year, and in the World Cup, Bateman was not among the best XVII in either competitions. He wasn’t named in the Dream Team, nor did not especially stand out for his country, as we have come to expect.
At 29, Bateman would appear to have time on his side. But the Tigers have given him a four-year deal, a long contract for a player who has had his injury issues in the past and has already played 12 years of first grade and over 260 games. That’s a lot already in the legs.
Will he get better over the next 48 months, or have we seen his best already?
Then there’s the history of off-field incidents, including a fight with a Raiders teammate and the alleged glassing of Lee Mossop while at Wigan. You throw in bust-ups with journalists, and other falling outs, and it doesn’t make the prettiest picture.
Will he be able to handle the harsh NRL media spotlight, which turned on him in 2020?
Will Bateman thrive at a club that has been a failure for some time, and hasn’t made the semi-finals in a decade?
Tim Sheens has been a brilliant coach, that is undeniable, but at the age of 72 and with his last two spells – Widnes and Hull KR – ending abruptly, question marks remain.
The Tigers have a horrible record for recruitment, their club culture is poor and their spine is below-par for 2023. Interestingly in the off-season, Hastings has left for Newcastle just as Bateman has arrived at Leichhardt Oval.
Most pundits expect Wests to struggle again this season. The club has outlayed a lot of money for Bateman on the cap, and also paid a transfer fee for him.
Going by their statement, which you can read in full here, Wigan were not happy about Bateman’s exit either.
Maybe Bateman will turn out to be an English godsend for the Tigers, like Gareth Ellis, Ellery Hanley and Garry Schofield were.
Maybe he will help turn the club around, and get them back into the finals.
Or maybe it will end in tears, just like it did in Wigan and in Canberra.
Recruitment is hardly an exact science, but as ever, the proof will be in the pudding.
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